Zachary Taylor(American President)

Date of Birth:

November 24, 1784

Date of Death:

July 9, 1850

Nationality:

American

Quote count:

4

Times favorited:

4

Zachary Taylor was an American military leader and the twelfth President of the United States. Known as "Old Rough and Ready," Taylor had a 40-year military career in the U.S. Army, serving in the War of 1812, Black Hawk War, and Second Seminole War before achieving fame leading U.S. troops to victory at several critical battles of the Mexican-American War. A Southern slaveholder who opposed the spread of slavery to the territories, he was uninterested in politics but was recruited by the Whig Party as their nominee in the 1848 presidential election. In the election, Taylor defeated the Democratic nominee, Lewis Cass, and became the second U.S. president never to hold any prior office . Taylor was also the last southerner to be elected president until Woodrow Wilson. .